If I May Be So Bold (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

16.

October 2034

ELLA

Henry smiled at her in the halls now. Not like he had before, where it was sort of a smirk, like an "I know a secret about you no one else knows" sort of smile. Now he actually smiled like he was sort of glad to be seeing her. They weren't partnered up anymore in charms, but he would sometimes find excuses to end up wherever she was working and he'd always find some reason to touch her as he passed by.

They didn't actually talk for more than a week, though. Not until Professor Munslow decided to create a new seating chart in herbology one afternoon. She was actually partnered with a Ravenclaw girl called Polina, but Henry was at the pot just beside hers.

He waited until Polina and his partner had both gone up to the front to collect supplies before he said anything to her.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"I have choir," said Ella.

"Skip it," said Henry.

"I can't do that. Why?"

"So you can hang out with me, obviously," said Henry under his breath. She didn't really know why he was whispering, but it made her feel weird.

"I can't," she said. "I need to be there."

"Come on," Henry insisted. "It'd be perfect. Your friends will be busy, so they won't be bugging you. They're always tagging along. You're impossible to get alone."

Polina reappeared so Ella didn't have to answer him right away, but this wasn't entirely a blessing, because it gave her a lot of time to think about how she wanted to respond.

For the rest of class, they each focused on their plants, talking only to their partners, scribbling down answers on their recording sheet. The whole time, Ella thought and thought about what he'd said and what he'd meant and the more she thought about it, the more it didn't sit right.

It wasn't the fact that he wanted to see her alone, exactly. She supposed she could understand that.

It was the fact that they only talked when no one else was around.

She made sure to keep up with him when it was time to leave, hugging her copy of 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi to her chest. "Why can't you talk to me when my friends are around anyway?" Ella asked.

"I never said I couldn't."

"No, but you don't," said Ella. "You only talk to me alone, and if you talk to me in front of anyone, you try and make sure no one notices."

She kept her voice low, because the rest of their class was nearby, Iris and Kyrie included, though they were keeping their distance. She didn't know what was making her feel brave enough to say any of this in the first place, but she definitely didn't want to start a big public argument.

"What am I supposed to do? Just make out with you with everyone watching? That's what you want?"

Ella's cheeks got very hot. "No," she said. "But you could talk to me sometimes. We don't just have to sneak around all the time."

"Just skip choir tonight. We'll talk then. I promise."

"No," Ella said. She surprised herself with how firm she sounded. "I already said I wasn't doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's important to me. I don't want to skip it."

Henry scoffed in exasperation, shaking his head.